Ballad of Harley Potter
by alwaysonmymind18
Summary: Harley Potter is no ordinary witch. She knew that ever since she saw the scar on her forehead. But after meeting Voldemort, killing a Basilik, and fighting off dementors, she wants rest. Now that the Triwizard Tournament arrives at Hogwarts, she can't help but feel relieved. She was wrong. fem/Harry. Read and review please!
1. Prolouge

James held the little girl in his arms, looking into her beautiful green eyes. Lily's eyes. He sighed happily as his daughter cooed and laughed, trying to grab his glasses with her chubby baby had been a year since the Potter household was blessed with twin children: Harry James and Harley Ashton Potter. Unfortunaley, it had only been six months since Harry had taken ill and passed in his sleep. All in twenty-four hours. Lily was still heart broken over the fact, having been closer to Harry than to Harley.

It was a cool Halloween night, and smells wafted through out the house of Lily's wonderful cooking. Harley sneezed, making James chuckle. He placed Harley down on the couch beside him and started producing bubbles from his wand. Harley giggled when one floated towards her, and popped on screamed in delight and clapped her hands in pure joy.

"James," a stern voice scolded from the living doorway. He started and met the emerald eyes of his wife, Lily. "You know I don't like it when she screams like that."

"Sorry, love," James apologized. Harley tapped his hand impatiently, wanting the attention back on her. The childs parents laughed warmly.

"Give her to me. Almost bedtime for this little monster," Lily teased as James surrendered his daughter. He threw his wand on the couch and streatched, yawning. Lily dissapeared with Harley. He was just about to close his eyes for a nice, well earned nap when a loud crash came from the front door.

James hopped up and raced to investigate the noise, only to find the one person he dreaded to look upoun. The man was already over the threshold, cloaked and smiling coldly.

"Lily! Take Harley and go! It's him! Go! I'll hold him off!"

The words were barely out of his mouth before the cloaked man gave out a high pitched, cold laugh and said, "Avada Kedavra!"

James fell top the floor, dead. The man climbed the stairs, to the screaming woman who was trying to barracade the door. With a lazy flick of his wand, the door burst open, pushing aside the chair and boxes. Lily stood there, the baby girl in her arms. She dropped Harley into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide.

"Not Harley, please not Harley!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl... Stand aside now."

"Not Harley, please no, kill me instead-"

"This is my last warning-"

"Not Harley! Please... Have mercy... I'll do anything-"

Green light flashed through around the room and Lily Potter dropped just like her husband. Harley stared at her dead mother, waiting for the red head to get up. The man pointed his wand very carefully at the little girl, who had started to cry.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The walls were once again bathed in green, then darkness. Silence echoed through the room.


	2. The Scar

**A/N: Hello creepers and followers out there in the far far away galaxy of Fanfiction... This is the female version of Harry! She does have some differences from Harry, but other than that, I'm trying to keep her the same. Please enjoy and review PLEASE! I have another account that I abandoned because I was discouraged from lack of reviews. I will accept bad criticism, but don't go over board!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER! I ONLY OWN JOSH WALKER, AND UNKNOWN PLOTS/ PAIRINGS.**

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**Chapter 1: The Scar**

Harley woke up sweating and out of breath. She laid in bed, panting and blinking the tears of pain out of her eyes. She hadn't felt this much pain since her first year at Hogwarts when she met Lord Voldemort. Finally catching her breathe, Harley sat up shakily. She looked over to the bed next to her to make sure Hermione was still asleep, then snuck out of the room.

She wandered aimlessly through the dark house, careful to avoid all the creaky spots and knocking something over. She finally ended up in the kitchen. She sat down at the wooden table and stared at a stain on the wood, thinking. Voldemort was getting stronger. That much was clear from the dream she just had. She shuddered when she saw the flash of green and the dead mans body drop to the floor, surrounded by the horrible snake named Nagini. Harley was terrified of snakes. Ever since the zoo scene in the reptile room when she was eleven, she was scared to death of snakes. Then, there was the time that Draco Malfoy had conjured a snake while the two of them were in dueling club. That was not pretty.

A noise coming from her left startled her out of her thoughts and she turned to the sound. She reached up for her wand, but forgot that she had left it upstairs on her bedside table. Cursing, she ducked under the table and waited for the next sound.

"Hello, beautiful," a voice whispered in her ear. She screamed swung her arm around. A grunt of pain told her that she had found her target and she bolted out from underneath the table. Thundering footsteps told her that she had woken up the Weasley's with her scream. Her breathing hitched up when she saw the figure slide out from underneath the table and face towards her. "Bloody hell. What was that for?"

"Fred?" Harely asked. Someone switched on the lights and Harley saw Fred Weasley standing there, in his pajamas and sporting a brilliant bloody nose. He was glaring at Harley.

"What's going on down here?" Mrs. Weasely demanded from the kitchen doorway. "Why are you two up at this hour of the day?"

"I- I was just down here because I couldn't sleep," Harley explained shakily. "And I guess Fred thought it would be funny if he scared me to death-"

"I didn't know that it was you down here! I thought it was Ron or Percy," Fred said angrily. Harley shot him a dirty look. Mr. Weasley sighed heavily.

"No point in going back to sleep now. We have only an hour until we leave for the World Cup. Fred, come here so I can fix your nose."

Harley stormed up to the room she shared with Hermione and Ginny. Both girls followed her and they all sat down on each others respective beds.

"What were you doing down in the kitchen in the first place, Harley?" Ginny asked, yawning.

"I couldn't sleep. Decided to go down there to think and get some quiet. I'm surprised we slept straight through Percy's snoring the past three nights," Harley explained, snorting. The other two girls laughed.

"He fancies you, you know," Ginny suddenly blurted out. Harley looked at her questioningly. "Fred. He doesn't really hate you."

"Well, he can save his breath, because I fancy him as much as I fancy Draco Malfoy."

"He fancies you, too," Hermione said, smirking. "Nearly every boy in Hogwarts does. Especially a one Josh Walker."

Harley blushed and Ginny giggled. "And if I wasn't mistaken, you fancied him, too"

"I do not," Harley lied, but the damage was done. Ginny laughed openly and Hermione smirked.

"He's coming to the Quidditch World Cup, maybe we'll see him there," Ginny said teasingly. Harley threw a pillow at her.

"If either of you mess this up for me, I swear on Merlins pants that I will slowly kill you when we get to Hogwarts," Harley threatened, but she was smiling as she watched her two best friends laugh insanely.

"What's going on in there?" Mrs. Weasley's strict voice called from the other side of the door. "You three better be getting ready! You want to eat before you lot are off."

"Yes, mum!" Ginny yelled back, walking slowly to her closet. Harley laughed as she followed Ginny. Harley never bothered packing any of her clothes (besides undergarments) when she came to the Weasley's house; Ginny had plenty of clothes that she offered to share with Harley. The Dursely's never bought Harley anything, so Harley took the offer after only a little arguing.

Now, she was wearing one of Ginny's ripped jean shorts and Ireland Quidditch t-shirt and her own converse. Her auburn hair fell down to her shoulders in messy curls and her green eyes sparkled with amusement. She laughed as she raced Ginny downstairs to the kitchen. Everyone but Percy, Bill and Charlie were seated around the scrubbed wooden table. Ron's hair was sticking up in diffrent directions and his eyes drooped sleepily. Fred looked at Harley apologetically, but she gave no recognition of seeing him. She plopped down next to his twin and helped herself to porridge and toast.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" George asked, rubbing his eyes.

"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.

"Walk?" Harley asked, startled. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," Mr. Weasley said, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup-"

"George!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply, and they all jumped.

"What?" George asked in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!"

Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "_Accio!_"

Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.

* * *

Besides the scene between the twins and Mrs. Weasley that morning, Harley was having the best day of her life. They arrived at the Quidditch World Cup with the Diggory's and walked to their campsite. Mr. Weasley insisted on doing everything the muggle way, so of course the work was done by Harley and Hermione. Shocking. Fred kept giving her weird looks, which she pointedly ignored. George and Ron kept snickering, but Harley continued working as if she didn't notice anything. Nothing exciting happened until he came walking toward their campsite.

Harley, Hermione, and Ron had just come back from getting a bucket of water for the campsite and were settling down for a lunch of eggs and sausage when a boy their age walked up to them. He had blonde-brown hair, blue eyes, and was nearly taller than Ron. He was thin, but muscular from playing Quidditch and working out. When Harley saw him, she turned red and started fixing her messy hair. Hermione and Ginny giggled and smiled at the red faced Harley.

"Harley!" The boy called, a smile forming on his face.

"Josh!" Harely said breathlessly. She stood and Josh pulled her into a hug. She nearly fainted, but played it cool. "How's your summer?"

"It's been pretty boring without the Golden Trio brewing trouble everyday," he teased. "Hermione, Ron, how are you?"

Both got up and said their hellos.

"Oh, Josh, this is Mr. Weasley, you know Fred, George, and Percy, and those two are their older brothers Charlie and Bill," Harley introduced, gesturing to each person. Josh's eyes lit up when he heard Charlie's name.

"Charlie Weasley, huh?" Josh asked, holding out his hand to said person. "Heard alot about you, man. Hows the dragons?"

"Lovely as ever," Charlie said, laughing. Harley grinned and looked back at Josh.

"So, you rooting for the Irish?" She asked sweetly.

He chuckled. "Would love to, but my family is from the Bulgaria region, so Viktor Krum all the way, babe," he said casually, but Harley's heart fluttered madly.

"You're going to be dissapointed then," Ron said, chuckling.

Josh stayed for a miunte more, then said his goodbyes all around. He gave Harley a one armed hug and jogged off. Harley sat down smiling and met Fred's eyes. He had anger etched on his face, but it smoothed out almost immediatley.

Ludo Bagman came to visit, then Bartimus Crouch, who Harley had no interest in; he was so boring. She chatted with Hermione and Ginny about random things until it was an hour until the World Cup started.

"Come on, Hermione said, grabbing Harley and Ginny's hand and dragging them into the girls tent.

"You sure you wanna do this, Har?" Ginny asked, laughing. Harley nodded, then proceeded in painting her face with the Irish colors. She painted the Seekers name, Adrian Lynch, on on her forehead, his number on her right cheek, and a shamrock on her left one. Ginny and Hermione were giggling fiercly. Harley tried to keep a poker face, but she gave up, remembering the dare she made with Ron earlier that week.

"Looking good, Harley," Ron said, laughing as Harley and the two other girls joined the boys. She playfully punched his arm and they set off to the stadium. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas spotted her and hugged her and laughed at her face paint. She stood proud and tall, smiling and joking with the rest.

"Potter," a cold voice said behind her. Harley turned to see Draco Malfoy, her least favorite person at Hogwarts. Standing next to him, was his father, the slimeball Lucius Malfoy. He sneered at Hermione, then stared coldly at Harley, who smiled sweetly back.

"Malfoy," Harley said, grinning at him. He glared. "Pleasure meeting you here, milady." Harley bowed and Ron howled with laughter.

Malfoy went pink in the face. The Weasley's, Hermione, and Harley continued climbing up the stairs to the top box, chuckling and talking excitedly.

* * *

"GO LYNCH!" Harley screamed at the top of her lungs, watching Lynch and Krum race after the Snitch. "COME ON! IT'S RIGHT THERE! JUST ALITTLE FARTHER- NO!"

Krum came up with the snitch in his hand. Lynch crashed. Harley groaned for a minute, but then realized the Irish still won. She grabbed the nearest person to her and jumped up and down while hugging the person. She let go, but didn't notice that that person was Fred. He blushed a deep scarlet, but she didn't notice. She was too busy cheering and screaming herself hoarse with Ron and the rest of the Weasley's.

They got to meet all the Irish and Bulgarian players in the top box after the game. Lynch looked kind of out of it, but he smiled at Harley when he saw her face paintings. Krum glanced at her, but otherwise stared sulkily at the ground.

Harley walked back to the campsite arm in arm with Ron and Hermione. They all gathered in the boys tent for a after party of sorts. They all started jumping around, until Ron stood on a chair.

"There's no one like Krum," he said.

"Krum?" George asked in a low voice.

"Dumb Krum," Fred said in the same tone.

"He's like a bird the way he rides the wind," Ron continued while the twins were flapping around like birds around him. "He's more than an athlete, he's an artist."

Harley flounced over to him. "I think you're in love, Ron."

"Viktor I love you," Fred began singing.

"Viktor I do," George continued.

"When we're apart, my heart beats only for you!" Harley, Fred, and George sang together.

"Sounds like the Irish are still celebrating," Fred said, following his dad out the tent.

Then, Harley registered the screams. She rushed out and a terrible sight met her eyes.

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**A/N: Thanks to whoever read this! I really appreciate this! I will try to update regularly but I can make no promises, sadly. Don't forget to review on your way out please!**


	3. His Mark

**A/N: Attention all creepers! A new chapter is here for you! I would like to thank Kutiepie1 for the review! Please read and review! Tell me what you think of this female Harry please! I would love your opinion! Thanks!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING YOU RECOGNIZE!**

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**Chapter 2: His Mark**

Harley stared, wide eyed at the scene that unfolded before her. Everybody was running around, screaming and dragging their family members with them. Men in masks marched around calmly, casting spells at people and destroying tents. But the worst was the people floating.

The man who had greeted us at the gates was hanging upside down in the air, a long with what Harley assumed was his two children and his wife. Then, she remembered they were Muggles. Of course.

"Come on, Harley!" Fred yelled, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from the tent and to the woods. She tripped and scraped her knee, but kept running all the same. She was so terrified, she didn't even care that she was holding Fred's hand still. She felt someone trip on something right beside her and stopped to help them up. It was Ron. She released her hand from Fred's and dragged Ron up with the help of Hermione.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Tripped on a tree root," Ron mumbled darkly.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a familiar drawling voice from behind them.

Harley, Ron, and Hermione turned sharply. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed. His arms were folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees. Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harley knew he would never suggest in front of his parents.

"Language, Weasley," said Malfoy. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted would you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," said Malfoy.

"Hermione's a witch," Harley snarled at him. She did not have the patience for him right now. She and her friends had to get away from the campsite fast. The masked men scared her and they were getting closer and closer by the minute. "Now, excuse us, Malfoy, we have to go."

"I suppose daddy Weasel asked you to hide, then, Potter? Scared?" Malfoy sounded pleased. A chilling memory came back to Harley; their second year, he had uttered those exact same words before he conjured a snake at the dueling club. A shiver ran down her spine. And he knew Harley was terrified of snakes.

"I suppose your daddy is out their with... them?" Harley asked, trying to sound brave. Malfoy chuckled.

"Maybe, but am I supposed to tell you, Potter?"

"Come on, guys," Hermione pleaded, pulling Harley and Ron's arms. Malfoy laughed openly now. They trooped away from Malfoy and deeper into the woods.

"Where are the others?" Harley asked suddenly.

"I don't know," Hermione moaned, looking around. An explosion came from behind them at the camp, followed by lots of screaming.

"I'll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot!" Ron said hotly.

"Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!" Hermione said.

A huddle of teenagers in pajamas was arguing vociferously a little way along the path. When they saw Harley, Ron, and Hermione, a girl with thick curly hair turned and said quickly, "Ou est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue-"

"Er- what?" Ron asked.

"Oh..." the girl said, turning away from him and walking to her friends. "'Ogwarts."

"Beauxbatons," muttered Hermione.

"That french school?" Harley asked, curious.

"I don't know if it's in France exactly, but yes, it's another magical school," Hermione said.

"Fred and George can't have gone that far," said Ron, pulling out his wand and lighting it like Hermione's. Harley felt her pockets for her own wand- but it wasn't there.

"Ah, no, I don't believe it... I've lost my wand!"

"You're kidding!"

Ron and Hermione raised their wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light farther on the ground. Harley looked all around her, but her wand was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe you put it down in the tent," Ron suggested. "Or fell lout when you were running."

"Yeah..." mumbled Harley," maybe..."

She felt very vulnerable without her wand. She walked between Hermione and Ron, rubbing her cold arms and looking around for Fred and the others.

A rustle of bushes came from their left. Both wands were pointed toward it before two people stumbled out of the bushes. Harley breathed a sigh of relief. It was Josh.

"Harley!" Josh said, obviously relieved too. The little girl with him clung to his leg and was crying silently. She was obviously Josh's little sister. She had a darker version of his hair, but the exact same shade of his eyes. Her chin had a scrape of mud on it, and her blue bathrobe was splattered with mud and had twigs attached in random places. Josh didn't look any better. He wore plain gray sweatpants and a Bulgarian shirt with a jacket covering his arms. Both were covered with grime and mud.

"Josh," Hermione said. "Have you seen Fred, George, or Ginny anywhere?"

He shook his head. "I haven't seen anybody since my sister and I entered the forest." He walked towards us, his sister still clinging to him. "Come on, Mary. They're not going to bite. Hopefully," he added, looking pointedly at Harley.

She cracked a grin and Ron chuckled. Last year, Josh had scared her by picking her up from behind and swinging her around in the corridor. Harley had bitten down hard on his arm, breaking skin and caused him to bleed quite a lot.

They all walked in silence, listening to the screams and explosions coming from the camp. The noise finally died out when they reached a clearing. Ron sat down by a tree and took out his Krum action figurine. It walked away, scowling, then paced the earth floor. Harley huddled up next to him, Hermione on Ron's other side. Josh sat next to Harley hesitantly, pulling Mary into his lap. Harley shivered and pulled her knees up to hug them.

"You cold?" Josh asked quietly. She nodded, and he slid his jacket off himself and wrapped it around Harley.

"Thanks," she said, zipping up the jacket and resting her chin on her knees.

"I hope the others are okay," Hermione said after a while of silence.

"They'll be fine," Ron said.

"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy," Harley said, closing her eyes. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."

"That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face all right," said Ron. "He fancies you, Har."

Josh stiffened next to Harley, who sat straight up and looked at Ron. "What?"

"I heard Fred and George talking about it with Lee on the train ride home," Ron mumbled, his ears going red. "Meant to tell you sooner, but it slipped my mind till now."

Harley glanced at Josh. He was glaring at the tree across from us. She hit Ron on the arm. "Oi! What was that for?"

"You're so daft," Hermione hissed so only Harley and Ron could hear her. Ron looked at Harley for a minute, then understanding crossed his face.

"Oh," he mumbled, going red again. "I mean, there could be loads of Harley's at Hogwarts. He must have meant that about er, someone else."

It wasn't the best lie ever. Harley rolled her eyes and looked at Josh again. His eyes were closed, his head leaning against the tree behind them. Mary was staring at Harley with her round blue eyes. Harley smiled at her. Mary hid her face in Josh's shirt, causing Josh to look at her in worry.

"Mad, though," Hermione started suddenly, "to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight. I mean, how do they expect to get away with it? Do you think they've been drinking or are they just-"

But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder. Harley and Ron looked quickly around too. It sounded as though someone was staggering toward their clearing. They waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.

"Hello?" Harley called.

There was silence. Harley go to her feet and peered around the tree. It was too dark to see very far, but she could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of her vision.

"Who's there?" Harley called again.

Then, without warning, the silence was broken by a voice unlike Harley had heard before; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell. Harley was suddenly pulled back by strong arms that had wound around her waist.

"**_MORSMORDRE_**!"

And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness Harley's eyes had been struggling to penetrate; it flew up over the treetops and into the sky.

"What the-" Ron gasped as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing in the sky.

For a second, Harley thought it was another leprechaun formation. Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emeralds, with a serpent protruding from it's mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a constellation.

"Who's' there?" Harley called again, not understanding what the symbol was.

"Harley come on, move, now!" Josh said, seizing her hand and tugging her back into the woods. Mary was attached to Hermione and looking so white it was scary.

"What's the matter, Josh?" Harley asked, startled to see even his face so white and terrified.

"It's the Dark Mark, Harley!" Hermione moaned, pulling Ron and Mary into the woods after Harley and Josh. "You-Know-Who's sign!"

"Voldemort's-?"

"Come on!" Josh yelled, grabbing Mary swiftly around the waist and hugging her next to him, still holding Harley's hand. Suddenly, they were surrounded by twenty wizards, appearing out of thin air. Harley looked around, and registered that every single wizard had his or her wand trained on her group of friends. She grabbed Mary and Josh and pulled them down.

"DUCK!" she yelled to Hermione and Ron, pulling Mary slightly under her body to cover the crying little girl. She felt two bodies hit the floor beside her.

"_**STUPEFY**_!" roared twenty voices- there was a blinding series of flashes and Harley felt her hair ripple around her as though powerful wind had swept the clearing. She hugged Mary tighter to her and she lifted her head a fraction of an inch. She saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness-

"Stop!" yelled a voice Harley recognized. "STOP! That's my son!"

Harley's hair stopped moving about. She raised her head a little higher. The wizard in front of her had lowered his wand. She rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding toward them, looking terrified.

"Ron- Harley-" his voice sounded shaky, "Hermione- are you alright.?"

Harley looked down at Mary, who was clinging to her and shaking badly. Josh pried Mary off her and she cried into her brothers shoulder. He nodded to her and squeezed her hand.

"Out of the way, Arthur," said a cold curt voice.

It was Mr. Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. Harley got to her feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage.

"Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do that!" Harley said, outraged.

"We didn't do anything!" Ron said, standing up and looking up at his father indignantly. "What did you want to attack us for?"

"Do not lie, sir!" Mr. Crouch shouted. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping- he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to-"

"Where did the mark come from, you four?" said Mr. Weasley quickly.

"Over there, said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice "There was someone behind the trees... they shouted words- an incarnation-"

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said the incarnation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy-"

But no other Ministry workers looked convinced that Harley, Josh, Hermione, or Ron conjured the Mark. Several of them raised their wands again and strode over to the spot that Hermione had indicated to.

"We're too late," said the witch in the woolen dressing gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated."

"I don't think so, said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through the trees... There's a good chance we got them..."

"Amos, be careful!" said a few wizards warningly as Mr. Diggory squared his shoulders and marched to the darkness of the trees. Everyone was silent. A few seconds passed until they heard Mr. Diggory's shout.

"Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's- but- blimey..."

"You've got someone?" Mr. Crouch yelled, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"

They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then Mr. Diggory appeared from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms. Harley recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky.

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**A/N: Thanks to whoever read this! ****I really appreciate this! I will try to update regularly but I can make no promises, sadly. Don't forget to review on your way out please!**


	4. The Return

**A/N: Hey guys! Yes I know it's been awhile since I last updated, but I just finished my finals and the school year yesterday and today I've been updating lots of my stories! So, I hope you enjoy! Oh, and, I'm announcing the Triwizard Tournament in the next chapter because this is a long chap. So, read and review! Bye!**

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**Chapter 3: The Return**

* * *

"Harley! Harley!" yelled a voice above her. "Oi! Wake up!"

Harley groaned and attempted to swat at whoever was hovering over her. "Go away. I'm trying to sleep," she mumbled sleepily.

"You've been sleeping for the past three hours," another voice said, getting clearer and clearer. "You need to change into your robes."

"Hermione, she isn't going to wake up just because you say that," Ron's annoyed voice said.

"Well, you try something since you're so clever!" Hermione snapped. Harley sighed and huddled into the seat she had fallen asleep on. She could feel the rocking of the train and the sounds of the wheels, making her become sleepier.

Suddenly, she was doused with icy water. She screamed and fell onto the floor. She looked around wildly and saw Ron pointing his wand at her and laughing. She growled and lunged at him, hitting him on the arms and chest.

"Not funny, Ronald Weasley!" Harley yelled, finally releasing him and plopping down in her seat again. Water dripped onto the floor.

"We had to wake you up somehow," Ron said, still chortling. Hermione frowned at him.

"You didn't have to pour water on her, you know," she said,, pulling Harley's trunk from the luggage rack above Ron. Harley noticed they were already changed into their robes. "You should change quickly, Harley. I can see Hogsmeade."

Harley nodded and pulled on her uniform quickly. Hermione tried making small talk between Ron and Harley, but Harley refused to speak a word to Ron. Soon, the train was slwing down and poeple were bustling out in the hallway. Harley braced herself, then plunged into the crowds. After getting pushed several times, she finally burst onto the platform. And tripped. Onto the one person she didn't want to trip on.

"Woah there, Harley," Josh said teasingly. He helped her stand upright and flashed a a grin that made her melt inside. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harley answered breathlessly. They stood there awkwardly until Josh's friends started calling him from the carriages.

"Back in a flash," he said, jogging off to them. Harley watched as he gestured to her a little, then his friends grinning and getting in the carriage without him. He walked back and smiled shyly at her. "Mind if I ride with you?"

"Not at all," she said, her heart racing madly. She smiled and looked around for Ron and Hermione. They finally emerged and the four of them got in a carriage together. Hermione smiled slyly at Harley as Ron sat next to her, leaving the only seat for Josh next to Harley. Harley blushed slightly and Josh sat next to her. She was fully aware that his arm was pressed right against hers and that his hand brushed against hers more than once.

"So, did you see that awful article in the _Daily Prophet_, Josh? The one Rita Skeetor wrote?" Hermione finally asked after five full minutes of silence. Outside, it had started pouring rain, so she spoke a little loud to be heard over the howling winds.

"Of course," Josh said darkly. "My mum and dad believe every word Rita writes, so I have to listen to them drone on and on about how great she is."

"She was talking about Ron's dad, too," Harley said bitterly. During the past summer, she had taken an order from the _Daily Prophet_, and she was disgusted by the articles Rita Skeetor published.

"I wouldn't fancy crossing the lake in this weather," Hermione said feverently. Harley nodded and looked out the carriage window. It was p6ouring and howling wind.

They crossed through the gates and stopped at the great stone steps of the entrance of Hogwarts. Josh took something out of his pocket and shoved it at Harley. She unfolded it as he clambered out and ran inside the catle. It was his jacket, the same one that he let her borrow at the Quidditch Wold Cup. She smiled.

"Hermione, get under here," she said, putting the jacket abopve her head. Hermione obliged and they managed to squeeze Ron under it and they all bolted to the entrance hall. Students were lined up outside of the Great Hall, all soaking wet and shivering. Though the jacket helped some, Harley shook the water from her eyes and pushed back her wet curls.

"Blimey," said Ron, shaking his head and sending water everywhere, "if that keeps up the lake's going to overflow. I'm soak- ARRGH!"

A large, red, water-filled balloon had pelted itself at Ron's head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Ron staggered sideways into Harley, just as a second water bomb dropped- narrowly missing Hermione, it burst right onto Harley's converse, soaking the shoes and her socks with icy cold water. People all around them shrieked and started pushing one another in their efforts to get out of the line of fire. Harley sighed furiously. Why was it always them three?

Harley looked up and growled. Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took his aim.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice Harley was hardly likely to forget. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!"

Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress and Head Of Gryffindor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling.

"Ouch- sorry, Miss Granger-"

"That's all right, Professor!" Hermione gasped out, massaging her throat.

"Peeves, get down her NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upward through her square-rimmed spectacles.

"Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves, lobbing a water balloon at several fifth year girls, who screamed and dived into the Great Hall. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb right at a group of second years who had just arrived.

"I shall call the headmaster!" Professor McGonagall shouted. "I'm warning you Peeves-"

With a huge raspberry towards the students, Peeves cackled and dissapeared. Harley scowled at the place where he dissapeared and scanned the crowds of people outside the Great Hall. She finally spotted his mop of dirty blonde hair and squeezed her way through the ever expanding crowd. He was standing with his other fifth year friends from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and she was surpsied to see Cedric Diggory amoung them. Harley clutched the jacket and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled widly.

"Hello again, pretty lady, Josh said. His friends sniggered behind him, but Cedric smiled at us. "How may I help you?"

"You... left your jacket in the carriage," Harley lied. His blue eyes shone with amusement and took his jacket from her outstetched hand.

"Thank you for returning it," he said. "Now, we must go eat." He held out his arm to her, gentlemen style, and raised his eyebrows. Harley laughed and linked her arm with his, resting her hand on his forearm. They walked into the Great Hall with the crowds like this, and she didn't care she was getting stares from people. She was now the happiest girl in the world, even though he was doing it just to be nice and get a laugh out of people. He walked her to the Gryffindor table, kissed the back of her hand, and smiled at her before heading his way to the Rvaenclaw table. Hermione was smiling at her as Harley sat down. Ron looked straight up confused.

"Did I miss something between you and Walker?" He mumbled across the table. Harley waved away his question and looked up at the teachers table in the front of the Great Hall. All the usual teachers were there, including, sadly, Severus Snape, Harley's least favorite teacher at Hogwarts. He taught Potions, but everybody knew that he was after the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts. He always gave Harley a hard time in potions, which is the main reason she hated his guts with a burning passion. His balck eyes rested on her green ones for a second, then she flitted them to the empty seat at the end.

"Where's Moody?" Harley asked.

"Dunno, but I hope the food's going to be here soon. I'm starving," Ron said, looking at the table exceptionally.

"You had all those candies and pasties I bought you on the train not even three hours ago!" Hermione said incredulously.

"So? That was three hours ago, Hermione," harley said just as her stomach growled. Ron nodded feverently. "I wish the Sorting would happen already. I'm so hungry!"

Just as the words came out of her mouth, the Great Halls doors burst open, and soaking first years trooped in, looking around with awed expressions on their faces. Harley smiled, remembering the description of her face that Josh gave her four years ago when they first met. She imagined it looked something like those faces.

"Harley! Harley!" a very excited voice called from the other side of Hermione. She groaned silently, and turned.

"Hullo, Colin," she said warily. Colin Creevey was a third year in Gryffindor, and he looked up to Harley like she was his hero. Of course, so did half of the wizarding world. The thought made her blood boil. She hated being famous. She couldn't go anywhere in Diagon Alley without people coming up to her and shaking her hands or taking a photo with them.

"Hey, Harley," Colin started, "my brother Dennis is starting Hogwarts this year! Hope he's in Gryffindor!"

"Er, yeah, crossing my fingers," said Harley, silently praying Dennis Creevey was drop dead normal.

She watched as a tiny boy with mousy hair walked in with Hagrid behind him. He wore Hagrid's overly large coat, and was mouthing to the Gryffindor table I fell in the lake. She snorted as he looked positively delighted about it.

Professor McGonagall now placed a four legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extemley old, dirty, patched wizards hat. The first years stared at it. So did everybody else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a long tear near the the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:

_ A thousand years or more ago,_

_ When I was newly sewn,_

_ There lived four wizards of renown,_

_ Whose names are still well known:_

_ Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_

_ Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

_ Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_

_Shrewd Slytherin, from fin._

_They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_

_They hatched a daring plan_

_To educate young sorcerers_

_Thus Hogwarts School began._

_Now each of these four founders_

_Formed their own house, for each_

_Did value different virtues_

_In the ones they had to teach._

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

_Prized far beyond the rest;_

_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

_Would always be the best;_

_For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_

_Most worthy of admission;_

_ And power-hungry Slytherin_

_Loved those of great ambition._

_While still alive they did divide_

_Their favorites from the throng,_

_Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

_When they were dead and gone?_

_'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_

_He whipped me off his head_

_The founders put some brains in me_

_So I could choose instead!_

_Now slip me snug about your ears,_

_I've never yet been wrong,_

_I'll have a look inside your mind_

_And tell where you belong!_

The Great Hall erupted in applause as the Sorting Hat finished.

"Was that the song it sang in our first year?" Harley asked once the applause died down.

"It sings a new one every year," Ron said. "It's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat? I suppose it spends all year making up the next one."

Professor McGonagall was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment.

"When I call out your name, you will put on th ehat and sit on the stool," she told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table.

"Ackerley, Stewart."

A trembling boy walked up to the stool, picked up the Sorting Hat, and sat down.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted to the hall.

Stewart Ackerley took off the hat and hurried to his seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding him. Harley caught a glimpse of Josh, cheering Stewart on while Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker, tried to get his attention again. Harley hadn't spoken a word to Cho Chang in her life, but she instantly hated Cho.

"Baddock, Malcolm!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table on the other side of the hall erupted in cheers; Harley could see Malfoy clapping as Baddock joined the Slytherin table. Harley wondered whether Baddock knew that Slytherin House turned out more Dark Wizards than any other. Fred and George hissed Malcolm Baddock as he sat down.

"Branstone, Elaenor!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Cauldwell, Owen!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Creevery, Dennis!"

The mousy hair boy staggered forward from the sheer weight of Hagrid's coat and sat down heavily on the stool, shoving the Sorting Hat onto his head. The rip at the brim opened wide-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Hagrid clapped along with the rest of the Gryffindors as Dennis Creevery sat next to his brother at the table.

"Colin, I fell in!" he said shrilly. "It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"

"Cool!" Colin said, equally excited. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"

"Wow!" said Dennis. Harley snorted quietly, thinking if that impressed him so much, then he'd have a heart attack on his first day in his classes.

"Dennis! Dennis! See that girl down there? The one with the curly aurburn hair? See her? Know who she is, Dennis?"

Harley looked away, staring very hard at the Sorting Hat, now Sorting Emma Dobbs.

The Sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving one by one to the four legged stool, the line slowly dwindling as Professor McGonagall passed the L's.

"Oh hurry up," Ron groaned, massagin his stomach.

"Now, Ron, the Sorting's much more important than food," Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor gjost, said, floating over to them. Harley stared at him in horror.

"Of course it is, you're a ghost," Harley said as politley as she could muster.

"I do hope this year's bacth of Gryffindor's are up to scratch," said Nearly Headless Nick, applauding as "McDonald, Natalie!" joined the Gryffindor table. "We don't want to loose our winning streak, do we?"

"Pritchard, Graham!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Quirke, Orla!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" (HUFFLEPUFF!), the Sorting ended. Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and the stool and carried them away.

"About time," Ron said, seizing his knife and fork and looking expectantly at his golden plates.

Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

"I only have two words to say to you," he said, "tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" said Harley and Ron loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes.

Nealr Headless Nick watched mournfully as Harley, Ron, and Hermione loaded their own plates.

"Ahh, 'at's be'er," Ron said through a mouthful of mashed potato. Harley nodded feverently and dug into her shepards pie, her favorite dish at lunch and dinner time at Hogwarts. Hermione looked at Ron with a frown and bit into her green beans properly. Harley didn't care about manners too much right now. She was hungry.

"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know," Nearly Headless Nick said. "There was trouble in the kitchens earlier."

"Why? Wha' 'appened?" Harley asked through a sizable chunk of steak now.

"Peeves, of course," said Nearly Headless Nick. "The usual argument, you know. He wanted to attend the feast- well, it's quite out of the question, you know what he's like, utterly uncivilized, can't see a plate of food without throwing it. We held a ghost council- the Fat Friar was all for giving him the chance- but most wisely, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."

Harley shuddered. The bloody Baron was the Slytherin ghost, a gaunt and silent spectar covered in silver bloodstains. He was the only person who could really control Peeves.

"Yeah, we thought Peeves seemed hacked off about something," Harley said darkly. "So what did he do in the kitchens?"

Oh, the usual," said Nearly Headless Nick, shrugging. "Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house elves out of their wits-"

Clang.

Hermione had knocked over her goblet. Pumpkin juice spread steadily over the tablecloth, staining several feets of white linen orange, but Hermione paid no attention.

"There are house-elves here?" she said, staring, horror struck, at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."

"I've never seen one!" said Hermione.

"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchens by the day, do they?" Nearly Headless Nick said. "They come out to do a bit of cleaning... see to the fires-"

"But tehy get paid?" demanded Hermione. "They get holidays, don't they?"

"House elves don't want pay and holidays!" Nick said, chortling.

Hermione looked down at her barely touched plate of food, then put her fork and knife down and pushed it away from her.

"Oh c'mon, Er-my-knee," Ron said, accidently spraying Harley with bits of Yorkshire pudding. "Oops- sorry, 'Arley-" He swallowed. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"

"Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. _Slave labor_."

No matter how much Harley and Ron tempted her, Hermione refused to eat another bite.

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**A/N: Thanks to whoever read this! ****I really appreciate this! I will try to update regularly but I can make no promises, sadly. Don't forget to review on your way out please!**


	5. Triwizard Tournament

**Hello my beautiful readers! I am so sorry it took me this long to update! I've had a real bad case of writers block, then there was school finishing, and finally my trip to Mississippi to visit family. SO I will be updating regularly (hopefully). Enjoy :)**

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When the dishes had been cleaned and the plates were sparkling, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. The noise from the students died down almost at once, leaving only the howl of the wind and pounding rain.

"So!" Dumbledore said, smiling around at them all. "Now that we're all fed and watered," (Hmph!" said Hermione) "I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list compromises of some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check."

The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogesmeade to all below third year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

Harley raised her eyebrows at the Headmasters words. "What?" she demanded softly to Ron. She looked to Fred and George, her fellow team members of the Quidditch team. They were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, apparently too appalled to speak. Dumbledore went on.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers time and energy- but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have the great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, and then he began to walk up towards the teachers table.

A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and a face unlike any Harley had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering words Harley couldn't hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side.

The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students chapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

"Moody?" Harley muttered to Ron. "Mad-Eye Moody? The one your dad went to help this morning?"

"Must be," said Ron in a low, awed voice.

"What happened to him?" Hermione whispered. "What happened to his face?"

"Dunno," Ron whispered back, watching Moody with fascination.

Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his traveling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Harley saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.

The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, Harley rolled her eyes, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er - but maybe this is not the time... No. . . ." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament. . . well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Dumstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"Death toll?" Hermione whispered, looking alarmed. But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by the majority of students in the Hall; many of them were whispering excitedly to one another, and Harley herself was far more interested in hearing about the tournament than in worrying about deaths that had happened hundreds of years ago.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Dumstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred Weasley hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. At every House table, Harley could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbors. But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" - Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hog-warts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Dumstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed toward the double doors into the entrance hall.

"They can't do that!" said George Weasley, who had not joined the crowd moving toward the door, but was standing up and glaring at Dumbledore. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"

"They're not stopping me entering," said Fred stubbornly, also scowling at the top table. "The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!"

"Yeah," said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand Galleons. . ."

"Come on," said Hermione, "we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move."

Harley, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George set off for the entrance hall, Fred and George debating the ways in which Dumbledore might stop those who were under seventeen from entering the tournament.

"Who's this impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are?" said Harley.

"Dunno," said Fred, "but it's them we'll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potion might do it, George..."

"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though," said Ron.

"Yeah, but he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he?" said Fred shrewdly.

"Sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are. Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names."

"People have died, though!" said Hermione in a worried voice as they walked through a door concealed behind a tapestry and started up another, narrower staircase.

"Yeah," said Fred airily, "but that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk? Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get 'round Dumbledore? Fancy entering?"

"What d'you reckon?" Ron asked Harley. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it? But I s'pose they might want someone older... Dunno if we've learned enough...

"I definitely haven't," came Neville's gloomy voice from behind Fred and George.

"I expect my gran'd want me to try, though. She's always going on about how I should be upholding the family honor. I'll just have to - oops. . ."

Neville's foot had sunk right through a step halfway up the staircase. There were many of these trick stairs at Hogwarts; it was second nature to most of the older students to jump this particular step, but Neville's memory was notoriously poor. Harley and Ron seized him under the armpits and pulled him out, while a suit of armor at the top of the stairs creaked and clanked, laughing wheezily.

"Shut it, you," said Ron, banging down its visor as they passed. They made their way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, which was concealed behind a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said as they approached.

"Balderdash," said George, "a prefect downstairs told me."

The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall through which they all climbed. A crackling fire warmed the circular common room, which was full of squashy armchairs and tables. Hermione cast the merrily dancing flames a dark look, and Harley distinctly heard her mutter "Slave labor" before bidding them good night and disappearing through the doorway to the girls' dormitory.

Harley trolled her eyes, said goodnight to the boys, and trudged up the stairs after Hermione. Lavender, Parvarti and Hermione were already in their respected beds, and Harley smiled as she sat down on hers. This was home.

She dressed into her Gryffindor tank top and maroon pajama pants and rolled over in bed, a series of dazzling new pictures forming in her mind's eye. . . . She had hoodwinked the impartial judge into believing she was seventeen. . . she had become Hogwarts champion. . . she was standing on the grounds, her arms raised in triumph in front of the whole school, all of whom were applauding and screaming. . . she had just won the Triwizard Tournament. Josh's face stood out particularly clearly in the blurred crowd, his face glowing with admiration...

Harley grinned into her pillow, not because of the "eternal glory", but because of him… He had no idea what he did to her… How he made her smile and how many times she had doodled his name in top corner of her assignments. And winning the Triwizard Tournament…. No. She hated the fame her past had brought to her. She couldn't live with herself if she won the Triwizard Tournament, if someone were to die when she was in the Tournament. With that happy thought, she fell asleep.

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**A/N: I am sorry if you guys find any mistakes in this chapter! I am typing this out on my own and I am typing fast in order to update to you guys quickly! So, I hope you enjoyed the chap, leave a review on your way out, I adore you guys and your comments! Stay beautiful, my Lovlies 3**

**XOXO, alwaysonmymind**


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